Reading Round Up: The “Muslim Ban”

Here at the AHMC, our goal of fostering mental health leads us to envision an academic environment that is healthy and safe for people from a variety of marginalized backgrounds, including people of colour, people from poor and working class backgrounds, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. This week, we are watching with the world as events unfold in the USA – events that will likely have a negative effect on the well-being of many graduate students and scholars from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, and Somalia. We find these recent events (and the responses to them) deeply troubling and we hope to provide you with some tools and resources that may counter Islamophobia. In light of this, we thought that it would be appropriate to delay our scheduled post and instead give you a round-up of perspectives on the so-called “Muslim ban,” that we think are worth highlighting. The articles listed here will be of specific interest to students and scholars within academia.

Just as the executive order came to force, an online petition was started signed by more than 6,000 academics from many of the most prestigious universities across the United States, including many Nobel Laureates, Fields Medalists, Members of the National Academy of Sciences, and winners of John Bates Clark Medal have signed an open letter opposing the executive order. The petition is still seeking signatories from academics and scholars alike.

“We came to the United States because we believed it is a country of freedom, a country friendly to immigrants. People like me should raise their voice and express their concerns. This is not a political issue…”.

We’ve written about the importance of being an ally to your colleagues with mental health issues. Some of the same principles apply here. Learning how to support colleagues who may face religious discrimination can help to foster safe and inclusive environments.